Chapter 4 - MY SON ASKED ME A QUESTION I DIDN’T WANT TO ANSWER
Leo stayed at my house that night.
He had not slept.
Neither had I.
At 4:10 a.m., I found him in the kitchen.
“Coffee?”
“No.”
“That bad?”
“Yes.”
I sat.
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
Then:
“You were right.”
I hated that sentence.
“I don’t want to be.”
“You warned me.”
“The staff warned you.”
He looked down.
“I thought they disliked her.”
“Why?”
“She was demanding.”
“That is not the same as cruel.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
He flinched.
Too sharp.
I softened.
“Leo.”
He looked at me.
“You’re allowed to be devastated.”
“I’m embarrassed.”
“Different.”
“I defended her.”
“Yes.”
“To Martin.”
“Yes.”
“To you.”
“Yes.”
“To Ava once.”
That surprised me.
“What happened?”
Ava had complained after Bianca screamed at her over table linens.
Leo told Ava:
“Bianca has a lot on her plate. Try not to take it personally.”
My stomach tightened.
He remembered the exact sentence.
Of course.
Then:
“Mom, why didn’t I see it?”
Because you loved her?
Too easy.
Because she fooled you?
Too clean.
I said:
“Because believing them would have forced you to reconsider someone you wanted to marry.”
He stared.
“And disbelief was easier.”
“Yes.”
He nodded slowly.
Then asked the question I did not want.
“And you?”
“What?”
“Was the disguise okay?”
I froze.
He continued:
“Bianca was horrible.”
“Yes.”
“But you dressed up as staff and secretly recorded her.”
“Yes.”
“You manipulated the situation.”
There it was.
I could have defended myself.
Staff had warned me.
Wedding approaching.
Serious concerns.
I needed proof.
All true.
Still.
“Yes.”
He looked surprised.
“I did.”
“So you think it was wrong?”
“I think I had reasons.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Apparently I raised him too well.
I sighed.
“It was manipulative.”
Silence.
“Would I do it again knowing what happened?”
“Yes.”
“But I should not pretend it was healthy simply because I was right about Bianca.”
He sat back.
That mattered.
“I didn’t trust you to listen without proof.”
“I probably wouldn’t have.”
“That is partly why I did it.”
“Still manipulation.”
“Yes.”
He nodded.
Then, unexpectedly:
“Thank you for saying that.”
I smiled sadly.
“Unfortunately integrity is inconvenient.”
He almost laughed.
Then:
“What happens now?”
“To the wedding?”
“Yes.”
I thought.
“You decide.”
He looked angry.
“You can’t possibly think I should marry her.”
“No.”
“But?”
“It still has to be your decision.”
Important.
I had tested her because I feared my son was surrendering judgment.
I would not respond by taking judgment away from him.
An hour later, Leo called Bianca.
I left the room.
He asked me to stay.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because this is your relationship.”
He stared.
Then nodded.
Twenty minutes later he came back.
No ring.
“She says she’ll go to counseling.”
I waited.
“She says the staff exaggerated.”
I waited.
“She says the vendor money was normal sponsorship.”
I waited.
“She says you poisoned me against her.”
I waited.
He looked irritated.
“Are you going to say anything?”
“What do you want?”
He almost smiled.
Then:
“I ended it.”
I hugged him.
Not because I won.
Because he decided.
Then his phone rang.
Bianca.
Declined.
Again.
Declined.
Then Celeste.
Declined.
Then an unknown number.
He answered.
“Dr. Sterling?”
A man’s voice.
“This is Darren Cole, chief financial officer of Bellamy Cultural Trust.”
Leo frowned.
“What can I do for you?”
Pause.
“I think you need to know your fiancée has been using your signature.”
May you like
Leo’s face went white.
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